This weekend was really busy so I didn’t get out as much as I would have liked to work with G. Sunday I started taking lessons with a new trainer who is located right at my barn, she has never competed dressage but has ridden her entire life and has started her young horse in dressage and I loved her teaching style when I sat in on a lesson she was having.
The first lesson was just seeing where G and I where so she can come up with a plan on what we need to progress. I am not going to compete this year due to lack of money and time, I had an interview yesterday for a second job at a restaurant and I got the job so now I am just waiting to find out when I start, so we will wait until next year to compete and spend this year taking lessons and getting ready to compete as much as we can next year.
Before the lesson I got out to the barn early because for the past week it has been 10C but Sunday morning we woke up to a cruel April Fools joke, 3 inches of snow, so I knew that the herd was most likely going crazy due to the drastic change in weather and the introduction of a new gelding. So after about 5 minutes of walking after my horse as he runs away from me he decided to stand still long enough that I could get the lead rope over his neck and keep him still enough to halter. I was expecting lunging to be equally as crazy so I spent about 15 minutes with our lunging and nothing he was nice calm and relaxed.
Of course working with a new trainer G did not want to stand at the mounting block so I was a littler flustered trying to get him to stand still long enough for me to get on and my trainer M just looked at me and said “take your time get him to were you want him to be, I’m in no rush” I was immediately able to calm down and quickly get him to stand still and get on.
We started out at the walk working on some half-halts… which clearly I didn’t TRULY understand until that lesson I was able to feel him change his gait with me tightening my core and shifting my pelvis. M really helped to enforce in my mind that trot is good but you will never have complete control in a trot unless you have complete control at a walk. We did lots of exercised to work on suppleness and lots of change of directions.
She asked me to pick up a trot to see where I was since my walk was really good I had a lot of control and G was extremely responsive to my seat aids. The trot was not as pretty as I was hoping for it to be, I was leaning forward to much and I guess I was on the wrong lead (I had heard this before but I couldn’t remember how to figure out the right and wrong lead, turns out when the front leg closest to the wall is forward I should be up). We just did about 30 seconds at the trot on both sides so I could show her were we were at then we went back to a walk.
I cant wait to take lessons consistently again, G felt great during the lesson, a little stiff going to the left but other than that he was great nice and relaxed and forward. G naturally collects which is amazing I hadn’t really been able to feel it until yesterday maybe I was stressing about everything else I couldn’t feel what he was trying to give me, He even took contact with the bit a few times, his muscles are not developed enough to hold it and I am not experienced enough to help him keep it but we will get there.
It was a great lesson even if It was only 30 minutes I feel like I learned a lot and I cannot wait until my next lesson. She charges me a barn rate of $20 a lesson (amazing right!) so I will hopefully be starting 2 lessons a week soon with her and 1 lesson a month with Wendy Clarke (competed PSG) since I can afford it now with this second job.
Oh and my trainer is selling me her old tack box so no more keeping my tack in my car so it can get dirty and wrecked. Alex will be happy too I have some saddle pads and blankets that are stinking up our new house!
The first lesson was just seeing where G and I where so she can come up with a plan on what we need to progress. I am not going to compete this year due to lack of money and time, I had an interview yesterday for a second job at a restaurant and I got the job so now I am just waiting to find out when I start, so we will wait until next year to compete and spend this year taking lessons and getting ready to compete as much as we can next year.
Before the lesson I got out to the barn early because for the past week it has been 10C but Sunday morning we woke up to a cruel April Fools joke, 3 inches of snow, so I knew that the herd was most likely going crazy due to the drastic change in weather and the introduction of a new gelding. So after about 5 minutes of walking after my horse as he runs away from me he decided to stand still long enough that I could get the lead rope over his neck and keep him still enough to halter. I was expecting lunging to be equally as crazy so I spent about 15 minutes with our lunging and nothing he was nice calm and relaxed.
Of course working with a new trainer G did not want to stand at the mounting block so I was a littler flustered trying to get him to stand still long enough for me to get on and my trainer M just looked at me and said “take your time get him to were you want him to be, I’m in no rush” I was immediately able to calm down and quickly get him to stand still and get on.
We started out at the walk working on some half-halts… which clearly I didn’t TRULY understand until that lesson I was able to feel him change his gait with me tightening my core and shifting my pelvis. M really helped to enforce in my mind that trot is good but you will never have complete control in a trot unless you have complete control at a walk. We did lots of exercised to work on suppleness and lots of change of directions.
She asked me to pick up a trot to see where I was since my walk was really good I had a lot of control and G was extremely responsive to my seat aids. The trot was not as pretty as I was hoping for it to be, I was leaning forward to much and I guess I was on the wrong lead (I had heard this before but I couldn’t remember how to figure out the right and wrong lead, turns out when the front leg closest to the wall is forward I should be up). We just did about 30 seconds at the trot on both sides so I could show her were we were at then we went back to a walk.
I cant wait to take lessons consistently again, G felt great during the lesson, a little stiff going to the left but other than that he was great nice and relaxed and forward. G naturally collects which is amazing I hadn’t really been able to feel it until yesterday maybe I was stressing about everything else I couldn’t feel what he was trying to give me, He even took contact with the bit a few times, his muscles are not developed enough to hold it and I am not experienced enough to help him keep it but we will get there.
It was a great lesson even if It was only 30 minutes I feel like I learned a lot and I cannot wait until my next lesson. She charges me a barn rate of $20 a lesson (amazing right!) so I will hopefully be starting 2 lessons a week soon with her and 1 lesson a month with Wendy Clarke (competed PSG) since I can afford it now with this second job.
Oh and my trainer is selling me her old tack box so no more keeping my tack in my car so it can get dirty and wrecked. Alex will be happy too I have some saddle pads and blankets that are stinking up our new house!
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